Chunky Monkey

That's what the physio called Max today, and sadly, she is right.

His fitness has gone down proportionately with my bad back. I've not been able to work him with energy, can barely ride him at all, and as a result, his crest is getting crestier, his hinds, especially, are losing muscle tone, and the knock on from that is that the stifle lock is coming back with a vengeance.

I don't think he'll ever be free of it entirely, but the best way to combat it is to build up those hinds and shoulders and that's where we're stuck.

I'll figure something out - I'm just not sure what, yet. In all those dreams I had of having my own horse one day, I never dreamt of the danger of laminitis or the possibility of lameness. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't ride for hours and hours every single day, or that my horse would ever suffer from lack of fitness or have weight concerns.

Max is not in danger, but he'd be a lot more comfy if he was built up. As with humans, extra weight puts extra strain on the joints.

It's down to me, as ever. My responsibility to get us unstuck for the benefit of Mr Max, so the adjective before "monkey" is "cheeky", not "chunky".